PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF MOBILE PHONES ON THE LIVELIHOOD OF RURAL DWELLERS IN NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study assessed the perception of rural dwellers on agricultural uses of mobile phones and its effects on their livelihood in Niger State, Nigeria. Snowball sampling technique was used to select 125 respondents from eighteen (18) rural areas. Interview schedule was used to elicit data from the respondents. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, and mean. The result shows that the majority (61.60%) of the respondents involved in the use of mobile phones were males. From the result 40.80% of the respondents were within the youthful age bracket of 21 – 40 years, while 42.70% of them had secondary education. The majority (70.40%) of the respondents used mobile phone to access market information. The result shows that the respondents expressed positive perception towards seven (7) statements bordering on effects of mobile phone on rural livelihood. The highest perceived constraint on the use of mobile phone by rural dwellers was high cost of maintenance of mobile phone (76.00%). Low cost of mobile phone acquisition and subscription charges will help in enhancing the livelihood rural dwellers in the study area. The X2 results revealed a significant relationship between age (X2 = 59.4; P<0.05), level of education (X2 = 41.36; P<0.05), sex (X2 = 6.73; P<0.05) and perception of rural dwellers on the effects of mobile phones on their livelihood in the study area.